A Federal High Court in Abuja has granted the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON) leave to serve a writ of summons on Meta Platform, the social media giant and Facebook’s owners.
The decision was made in response to an application by ARCON in a pending N30 billion suit against the social media giant for violating Nigeria’s advertising laws.
The writ will be served at Meta’s corporate headquarters in the United States, which also owns the social media platforms Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp.
The first defendant in the suit is Meta, and the second defendant is AT3 Resources Limited.
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ARCON is requesting a declaration that it is illegal to publish various advertisements and marketing communications materials aimed at Nigeria through Meta’s platforms without first being vetted and approved by the Advertising Standards Panel.
The regulatory body also claimed that the act ignored Nigerian culture, constitutional tenets, moral values, and citizens’ religious sensitivity.
As a result, ARCON is seeking a perpetual injunction prohibiting the defendants, their privies, agents, servants, and associates from publishing any advertising or marketing communications materials without recourse to ARCON in accordance with the country’s advertising law.
It is also requesting N30 billion in fines and sanctions for continuing violations of the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria Act No. 23 of 2022.
